- Date
- April 17, 1984, 11:55 local (18:55 UTC)
- Place
- Mesa, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N8773FHughes 269
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 24235
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The acft landed hard during an autorotation demonstration by a CFI. During landing the rotor blades severed the tail andthe acft went into ground resonance. The CFI said he thought the acft lost transitional lift. He recommended not practicing autorotations on a day with variable and gusty winds.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8773F
- Reported as
- Hughes 269
- Category
- Helicopter
- Serial number
- 62-0097
- Airframe hours
- 770
- Engine
- Lycoming HIO-360-B1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Milton Barns
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- P16 · Mesa, AZ
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 31
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,265 total · 269 in this make and model · 957 as pilot in command · 159 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 15 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 12,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- P16, 4 nm away
Other investigations on N8773F · 3
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.